Thai Peanut Sauce with Ginger

This is a mild and slightly sweet Thai peanut sauce recipe, perfect for kids who love peanut butter. If you prefer a spicier version, you can add extra red pepper flakes or even fresh diced chilies, or, as is traditional with Indonesian-style peanut satay sauces, top it off with crispy fried shallots. I also like adding a bit of sweet chili sauce into sweet peanut sauces, such as this one, and, if I have some on hand, I'll add in a bit of red curry paste to tie it all together. I go back and forth between crunchy and smooth when it comes to Thai peanut sauce - some days I like it one way and some days I like it another way. There's no right answer.

Peanut sauce is incredible versatile. Serve your Thai peanut sauce over pasta or noodles, or use as a dip for veggies. You can also use Thai peanut sauce as a salad dressing if you add some extra liquid to thin it out a bit, which is one my own favorite ways to use peanut sauce - yum!

This Thai peanut sauce with ginger recipe is both vegetarian and vegan, and, if you swap out the soy sauce for tamari or nama shoyu, it is completely gluten-free as well.

How to Make It

First, make sure your peanut butter is softened so it's easy enough to work with. You can microwave the peanut butter for a few seconds first to soften it up, or, prepare this recipe in a small pot over very, very low heat, being careful to stir consistently so the peanut butter doesn't scald the pan.

Once your peanut butter is very soft and easy to stir, whisk in the water, soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, brown sugar, minced garlic and red pepper flakes, then season with just a touch of salt.

Stir until everything is well combined, then taste, and adjust seasonings to taste. You may prefer a Thai peanut sauce which has more or less of one flavor.